Silver Belle

Deputy Stands Up for Neglected Horses

Quarter Horse Grulla Dun Mare

Entry Date – 5/16/18 at Age 20

Type of Rescue – Surrender to Marion County Sheriff’s Department

Reason – Chronic Neglect

Special Needs – None

On May 12th we received a phone call from a sheriff’s deputy in Marion County. He said he was calling to see what the Hay Bank was all about because he was called to a property where two horses have been kept in deplorable conditions for years. They were in a pen, not fed, and the water they had was filthy dirty. Any feed they were receiving was coming from concerned neighbors. They have been in these pens for five years. . . no hoof care. He said, “they are not in good shape.”
After explaining the Hay Bank’s mission, which is to provide temporary feed, vet care, and/or hoof care to responsible horse owners experiencing a temporary financial set back, it was clear that the owners would not qualify for assistance. The deputy felt that getting the owners to surrender the horses was the the best route to take as the conditions were bad and had been for at least five years and it probably wasn’t going to change.
As most counties, including Marion County, have no facilities to house large animals that are seized or surrendered to law enforcement, Equamore Sanctuary opened its gate once again. The deputy went immediately to the property and told the owners that unless they surrender the horses the sheriff’s department would prosecute. The owner said that he didn’t want to give the horses up, but if that was what he had to do, he would do it. Transportation was arranged immediately and Belle and her pen mate, Bobby Socks, were trailered to the Sanctuary.

Belle was not as thin as Bobby, but her feet were also in desperate need of some care. She was fed a normal ration of hay for her size and is looking fabulous. She is gracious, polite, and extraordinarily considerate of the people that care for her and lead her to and from the field each day.

She and Bobby spend their nights in side-by-side stalls in the long barn and their days grazing in the “couple’s field” with three other mares and three other geldings. They both fit right in with their new herd.